QB battle icing on cake among all the newness

COLLEGE STATION – There’s plenty of interest around the Texas A&M program because of the new coaching staff led by Kevin Sumlin, and the Aggies’ July 1 entrance into the Southeastern Conference.

The battle between four unproven but talented quarterbacks is simply the icing on the cake among all the newness – and admittedly causing some excitement about the unknown during spring drills. Why reporters consistently ask Sumlin about how his quarterbacks are progressing during the closed practices.

“The quarterbacks are grasping (the new system) about as well as they can,” Sumlin said. “It’s a pretty good competition. Every one of them has some positives. As coaches, what you try to do is reduce any player’s negatives, particularly the quarterback.

“The negatives are the things you want to eliminate or make stronger – that’s really where the process has been.”

Sophomores Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel and freshmen Johnny Manziel and Matt Davis are the players vying to replace Ryan Tannehill, likely a first-round NFL draft selection later this month – and lead the Aggies into the SEC.

“(And) the secondary’s aggressiveness so far has been pleasing,” Sumlin said. “With the exception of the offensive line, those are the guys that are coming on quicker than expected.”

* Sumlin said senior cornerback Dustin Harris “has to gain some weight.” Sumlin added that Harris “looks like a 10th grader out there” at about 170 pounds. Sumlin did say Harris, who’s been limited with injury during camp, “has a good attitude” and it’s good to see him taking part in drills.

* Secondary coach Marcel Yates, late of Boise State, said of the gang he inherited: “This unit as a whole is a lot more athletic than any I’ve ever had.”

“They don’t understand the game yet as a whole, but they’re getting there,” Yates said.

* Safety Steven Terrell on the difference between facing last year’s offense, which had a quick tempo in its own right, and this year’s bunch led by Sumlin and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury: “They have a great tempo, and it’s only going to make the defense better. It’s a great scheme and it gets us in shape.”

* Remember the first open practice/scrimmage for fans is 11 a.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. The “Aggie Youth Experience” follows at 1 p.m. on Kyle. Check aggieathletics.com for more details.